Alternating-current rectifier.



APPLICATION FILED HAY 12, 1913.

Patented Dee. 16, 1913.

uumlillll@ -unmlulllli |11 N `1EIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIi.

E '4 NS,

MF1 l HmF-mnmmlllll an 111111111111 11ml Bw Q, 1 su.. www@ @-l pl Q QQ@ mw mi @i @m1 \1 @il www EdwardJg Y j ermee mgnnr rimani: a?. wieen'vs, `or carence, rumors, AssrelwmA Ton. A, Hanny; or,

emesso; ILLzNozs.

Specicatin of Letters Patent.v y

Application Heaney 1 2, 191s. serial N9. 767,126.

. To' ZZ @71pm it may concern ofl a vibrating rectifier.

it known tha I, EDWARD J. VVIQGINS, a citizen of the vnited States, residing at Chicago,.in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have. invented a new and useful Improvement in AlternatingrCurrent Rectiiers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in apparatus for converting alternating into .direct electric currents.

The more important objects of my invention are to cause both Sides of the line to be rectified without material -loss of etticiency; to cause contact with the currentwaves to be made and broken at the zero points and thus avoid *sparking at the brushes and to provide a vconstruction of apparatus which shall be economical to maintain, inasmuch as there are no parts to be renewed, such as the mercuryfbulbs of a mercury rectifier and the platinum points In' the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved apparatus in the electric circuits includin an alter; netting-current generator and s own diagramma-tically; and Fig. 2 is a perspective vView' of the commutator used on the armature-shaft of the current-rectifying generator.

The motor 3 comprisesla field formed of "insulatineylnde 9' upon the Shaft, .is Cefried. the commutator formed of.. the two Separated Segments l0 andn .11, the .fermer emgwnneted' by a" neck. 1Q' with a ring eilt the Sup'p0rt','aed`tl1e latter being, .cemieteiby e 11e-Ck 1.1 Wlth a rms 11.?

about the same. oh] .the shaft', at. @ne ed@ of. the armature, Ais a metal collar 1 2' lon Whieh the' armature iS Connected, .and La similr collar 13 is on, but insulated' from,

.the shaft is a governor-device 14, Vshown as a bar 1.5 .he 'ne bells lr6-finite ends and fulcrum'edat 1 on a bearing upon an extension 18 of the shait and opposed by .ai SPflHg 1.9 011 the extension; and in tubular outer end of the extension Works" il' pin 20 having on'its inner end a stud ,2-1 projecting through a slot 22 in the extension into the path of the governor-bar.` A throw-lever 23 is fulcrurned at one end` on a bearing 24 and connected at its oppositev end by a spiral spring 25 with an adjusting-screw device 26 for regulating the .tene sion of the spring; andin the face of this lever is a socket 27 in line wit-h the pin at: which the latter bears a al As t the .levert to throw it by the action o? tlile governorbar; A s witchflever l28 lfulcrnmed at 28, aty one end, is connected by a short spiral spring-3QA with .the outer end of the throw-lever, whereby when, in the rotation of the shaft 7, it attains a certain speed, the 15 will Patented Bec. 16,19%..

advance-the pin 2 0 againstI and turn the leve;` 23 beyond the perpendicular, when' pull of the spring 30 will carry the lever- 28 to the opposite side of its throw, The switch-lever is formed with .WG Mining-ends. sections, 28 and 282, which are se arated; from each other and from the main l of the lever by insulation at 31 and 32 andt end-sections play between four .contaetfawspg member-e133, 34, 35 and 36', 0.11 one si e, four simiiar jaws, 3 7, 38, 39 and: 40, on the op osite side.-

t one side of the cylinder 9 two brushes, 41. and 4.2, @Detect respectively, with .the commutatomsegment 10.31191 ring.- 102; and* 'a third brush 43 Gontats with'th rine. 1l?

0f the .Commutewrfseement 1.1, with which;

avbrush 44 contacts on the opposite Side off' the .Support Brushes 45 .and 46 @entame respectively, with the collars l2.. and 1.3i

sdf

The circuits mabe traced as followswih' I lever-section 282 connects with the contactmember 36, whence the return Wire b goes to the generator; and the wire w connects with the brush 41 'and by a wire b2 with the opposite side of the field.

With the generator 47 running and the switch-lever in its illustrated position, the branch circuit is closed, thus energizing the fields 4 of the motor 3 with alternating current of the frequency of the generator 47. The branch a3 supplies current to the armature 5, through slip rings 112 and 102, this current being initially of the frequency of the generator 47. Due to the interaction of the armature field and its field coils the armature will. begin to4 move: It has been found by practice that the effect of supplying current from the alternator 47 to the armature will in conjunction with the momentum of the fly wheel 8 cause the armature to be gradually accelerated until it synchronizes with the speed of the generato-r 47. When this speed yhas been reached the governor actuates the throw-lever to snap the switch-lever into engagement with the other contact members. Then the courser of the current is over wire a and a branch a4 to the Contact-member 40, and over leversection 282, contact-member 39 and -wire c to the brush 43, and over ring 112, by way of the neck 11, commutator-segment 11, brush 44 and branch a3, to the side w of the direct-current line; and the return is over the side fw of the direct-current line to the brush 41, commutator-segment 10, neck 10 and ring 102, brush 42, wire b to the contact-member 38, and over the lever-section 28 and contact-member 37 to the genera-tor 47. At the connection of the branch a3 with the line wire W a branch a2 runs to the fields 4, completing a shunt circuit at brush 41 through wire b2. It will be noted that, due to the synchronous operation of the commutator 9, direct current will thus be supplied to both the circuit w fw and the fields 4 The brush 45 is connected by abranch c withithe brush 4l, and the brush 46 is connected by a wire b3 with the brush 42, so that the alternating circuit is closed through the armature 5.

The reason I start the motor and bring its speed up until it is substantially synchronized with the speed of the generator, and then throw 'the switch into the running position, is because all the magnetic flux available is required in the field to raise the speed of the motor to substantially that of the generator 47, because alternating current is being delivered to the field, and the armature is receiving an interrupted alternating current. When however the motor attains the speed of the generator then direct current is supplied to the armature, the field however continuing to receive alternating Current. W'hen running under these condi- Los-Laar step with the generator, and eliminates the u sparking of the commutator, because the current is broken at zero point.

Variation of voltage is controlled by wind- Aingvthe permanent field, as described, which keeps the armature in exact step with the cycles of the alternating current, since when the voltage rises it more strongly energizes `the magnet and produces a corresponding condition in the field.

As will be understood without illustration, the line-wires w, w', which take the direct current from the commutator by the brushes, lead to two binding posts, beyond which resistance may be placed in the line to give any desired amperage. 4

By means of the set-screw device' 26, the tension of the spring 25 may be regulated to vary, according to desire, the resistance of the lever 23 to the governor-action, to increase or decrease the number of shaftrevolutions for attaining thc speed necessary to turn the switch; and the device thus serves to regulate the machine according to the number 0I" cycles o'f any particular allernating-current generator.

l realize that considerable variation is possible in the details .of construction thus specifically shown and described, and I do not intend by illustrating a single specific or preferred embodiment of my invention to be limited thereto; my intention being in theappended claims to`claim protection upon all the novelty there may be in the invention as broadly as the state of t-he art will permit.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentis-- 1. In combination with an electric circuit,

an alternating-current generator and a reci tifler for said current, comprising a magnet, arotary shaft carrying an armature to rotate in the field of the magnet and. a commutator, a set of commutator-brushes and armature-brushes connected with members an alternating-current generator and a rectlfier for said current, comprislng a wirewound magnet, a rotary shaft carrying an armaturel to rotate in the field of the magnet and a commutator, a set of commutatorbrushes and armature-brushes connected with members of said set, a direct current line leading from the rectifier, and a switchdevice operating in one osition to start the rectifier by the current rom said generator and in its other position to send said current through the rectifier upon the direct-current line.

3. In combination with an electric circuit, an alternating-current gene tor and a rectifier for said current, comprising a magnet, a rotary shaft carrying an armature to rotate'in the field of the magnet and a commutator formed of a pair of segments each having a ring about and insulated from the shaft and connected with the segment by a neck, a pair of' brushes contacting the opposite segments and connected with the eld, a pair of brushes contacting said rings and brusheson opposite sides of the armature connected with said ring-contacting brushes, a direct current line leading from the rectifier, and a switch-device operating in one position to start the rectifier by the current from said Generator and in its other position to send said current through the rectifier upon the direct-current line.

4. In combination with an electric circuit,

opposite sets of contact members, an alternating-current generator, and a rectifier for said current comprising a magnet, a rotary shaft -carrying an armature to rotate in the field of the magnet and a commutator, a

set of commutator-brushes and armature-y brushes connected with members of said set, a direct current line leading from the rectifier, a switch supported to be moved from engagement with one set of said contactmembers, to start the rectifier by `current from said generator, into engagement with the` other set thereof, to send said current through the rectifier upon the direct-currentline, a governor on the shaft, andV means controlledby the governor for throwing the Switch from one tothe other of its ositlons.

5. In combination with an electrlc circuit, opposite sets of contact-members, an altermating-current generator, and a rectifier for said current, comprising a magnet, a rotary shaft carrying an armature to rotate in the field of the magnet and a commutator, a set of commutator-brushes and armaturebrushes connected with members of said set,

.a direct current line leading from the rectifier, a switch-lever having insulating sections and supported tobe turned from engagement with one set of said contact-members, to start the rectifier by current from ysaid generator, into engagement with the other set thereof, to send said current through the rectifier upon the direct-current line, a throw-lever having a throwing spring-connection with the switch-lever, and a governor device on the shaft engaging the throw-lever to turn it and throw the switch-lever by a predetermined speed of the shafts rotation. v

6. In an alternating current rectifier, a magnetic member, a rotatin armature therein, means for 'starting an means for maintaining the` speed of the armature, an adjusting device adapted to be set .to regulate the speed to alternating currents of different cycles, and a switching device adapted to change the connections of the starting means from an alternating source of current to connections carrying current rectified rom such slource.

7. In an alternating current rectifier, a magnetic member, a movable member, means for accelerating the movable member to a given speed and means for maintaining nating current and with irect current when the given speed has been attained.

`EDWARD J. WIGGINS. In presence 01E- NELIJE B. DEARBORN, D. C. .Trronsrnm 

